Group Of Lecturers Research Articles

Storytelling as dialogue: how teachers construct professional knowledge

This study shows how a group of English language lecturers use storytelling as a form of professional dialogue. The aim of the study is to highlight the dialogic role of storytelling in supporting the construction of lecturers' professional knowledge and not to identify lecturers' professional knowledge. In a professional development project, 12 lecturers created digital stories about their experiences of professional development. These stories were shared with colleagues who then responded with their own digital stories. A narrative framework was used to analyse stories for the types of connections lecturers made between stories. Five dialogic processes were identified: connecting, echoing, developing, questioning and constructing. Excerpts of stories are used to demonstrate how lecturers construct professional knowledge through storytelling. The study concludes by outlining the potential and limitations of storytelling as an approach to professional development and proposes further research into the dialogic capacity of storytelling in a professional development context.

Communication theory and research in Spain: A paradigmatic case of a socio-humanistic discipline

This article analyses the situation of communication research in Spain. First, a history of the development of communication research is presented. Then the authors describe and analyse the status of research at the beginning of the 21st century and present the opinion of researchers themselves concerning this situation. Subsequently, using the Delphi method, an analysis of the panorama of research in Spain is offered from the perspective of a group of Spanish researchers and lecturers in the field. Finally, the future prospects are discussed for communication theory and research in this European country. In general, this work aims to reflect on the state of communication theory as a social and humanistic science, in those democratic countries from the first world which incorporated the study of communication theory in their universities in the 1970s, based on an observation of the Spanish situation. Consequently, the issues analysed, the epistemological precept and the solutions proposed can be extrapolated to all those zones where the discipline is currently in a complete phase of consolidation, definition and maturity.

An update of ADELEX: developing the lexical competence of Spanish university students through ICT in the ESHE

The educational experience related over the following pages is the result of several research projects undertaken after an evaluation of the vocabulary size of final year English philology students at the University of Granada (Spain), who were found to have a significant deficiency in their lexical competence. In view of the results obtained, which, amongst other things, demonstrated a clear cut lexical shortfall for future teachers of English, a group of lecturers from the same department formed the research group ADELEX and designed a semi-virtual course to redress this perceived deficit. The initiative was to become one of the first subjects to be sanctioned under the auspices of the Centre for Virtual Learning at the University of Granada (CEVUG). Later on, this online learning experience joined the Andalusian Virtual Campus (Campus Andaluz Virtual) and the new ADELEX was transformed into a fully virtual course, which obviously gave the project a wider scope. In its present incarnation, this updated version of ADELEX has a twofold purpose. On the one hand, its aim is to research into the nature of lexis (i.e. lexicology, semantics, pedagogical lexicography, phraseology etc.) as well as to focus on state-of-the-art digital methodology to solve real and meaningful problems that promote linguistic interaction in addition to autonomous and cooperative learning. On the other hand, it seeks to question Spanish university education on three fronts: (i) the integration and pedagogical use of new technologies in university pedagogy; (ii) European convergence and the implementation of the ECTS (European Credit Transfer System); and (iii) educational innovation aimed at bridging the gap between the university and the reality confronting students both in social and vocational contexts. Finally, this learning experience has been awarded the European Label for Pedagogic Innovation by the European Commission and the Spanish Ministry of Education, and is funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation within the National Research Programme.

Filling the gap between theory and practice

Jcom’s adventure was launched nearly eight years ago, when a group of lecturers and former students of the Master’s degree in Science Communication at SISSA of Trieste, decided to have training joined by the commitment to research on science communication issues.

The effect of guided note taking during lectures on Thai university students’ understanding of electromagnetism

This paper reports on the implementation of a guided note taking strategy to promote Thai students’ understanding of electromagnetism during a lecture course. The aim of the study was to enhance student learning of electromagnetism concepts. The developed guided notes contain quotations, diagrams, pictures, problems, and blank spaces to encourage student interactive engagement with the lectures. The guided note templates were critiqued by a group of experienced university physics lecturers and piloted with graduate physics education students to check the content validity. Over 300 first year university students (aged about 18–19 years) attended lectures that did not involve guided note taking. Six hundred students participated in the guided note taking approach. Students’ understanding of electromagnetism was investigated using a conceptual test. Comparison of the pre‐ and post‐test results of the two groups of students indicated that students who were involved in the guided note taking approach performed better on the conceptual test than students who were not involved in this approach. From interviews, it was found that students viewed the guided note taking approach as a supportive tool that helped them concentrate on the lecture. Promoting student involvement in the lecture class through the process of guided note taking was shown to be a meaningful learning strategy for first year university physics classes.

Teaching engineering/engineering teaching: interdisciplinary collaboration and the construction of academic identities

Academics in higher education institutions are members of disciplinary communities by virtue of their qualifications and research activities, and as teachers of particular disciplines (or professions) they are (or need to become) members of a community of educational practitioners. In this paper, I analyse the ways in which a small group of lecturers in a professional engineering discipline negotiated their academic identities in the process of attaining a Masters degree in Engineering Education. A series of narrative interviews was used to track shifts in the lecturers’ identity trajectories during the Masters programme. The findings indicate that academic identities, even within a single engineering discipline, are flexible, multi-layered, and susceptible to different degrees of change. Despite these differences, all participants experienced similar stages in the process of shifting from engineering to engineering educator identities.

Evaluating assessment strategies through collaborative evidence‐based practice: can one tool fit all?

This paper reports on a collaborative project to improve assessment undertaken by a cross‐discipline group of university lecturers (Business, Engineering and Psychology) using action research methodology. First‐stage analysis was based on results from an Assessment Experience Questionnaire developed by the FAST FDTL4 (Formative Assessment in Science Teaching – Fund for the Development of Teaching and Learning Phase 4) project and complementary qualitative data. Collaborative discussion of outcomes led to formulation of improvement plans within each discipline. Further conclusions were made surrounding the selected standardised tool and the process of undertaking collaborative action research across disciplines.

International Capacity‐Building in Monsoon Science: Advanced Institute on the Asian Monsoon System: Prediction of Change and Variability; Honolulu, Hawaii, 2–11 January 2008

More than 3 billion people in Asia rely on monsoon precipitation for water, and changes in this precipitation influence agriculture, economic activity, and public health. Given trends of population growth, rapid industrialization, and urbanization, it is important for scientists in the Asia‐Pacific region to both stay abreast of advances in monsoon science and develop collaborations to understand and predict the variability of monsoons.Twenty early‐career meteorologists from across the Asia‐Pacific region and North America met 2–11 January 2008 to attend a series of lectures on the Asian monsoon and to explore possibilities for collaboration. The participants were selected from more than 70 applicants from universities, government labs, and meteorological forecast centers in more than 10 countries. Invited faculty from China, India, Japan, Korea, and the United States gave the lectures, with the largest group of lecturers coming from the International Pacific Research Center (IPRC) of the University of Hawai'i. The meeting was held at the East‐West Center, adjacent to the campus of the University of Hawai'i at Manoa.

Accidents médicamenteux évitables observés dans sept services d’accueil et d’urgences français : prévalence, prévention et dépenses inutiles: À propos d’une étude de l’APNET sur les accidents médicamenteux observés dans sept services d’accueil et d’urgences français

BackgroundAdverse-drug events (ADEs) are a substantial cause of hospital admissions. However, little is known about the incidence, preventability and severity of ADEs resulting in emergency-department visits. To address this issue, we conducted a prospective survey in emergency departments of French public hospitals. MethodsThis study was performed over two periods of one week in 2003 in seven French-emergency departments. All patients aged 15 and over presenting with medical complaints were included in the study, except those with alcohol intoxication or intentional-drug poisoning. Each patient was assessed by two local emergency physicians to determine whether the visit was the result of an ADE. All medical records were subsequently validated by an independent group of medical lecturers in iatrogenic disorders. ResultsOut of a total of 1663 patients consulting, 263 of these patients consulted an emergency physician because of an ADE. Patients with ADEs were older than those without (62.4 versus 53.8 years; p=0.0016). Furthermore, ADE patients were more likely to have a higher severity presentation than the non-ADE group (p=0.0003). The number of drug exposures was significantly higher in patients with ADE. The most frequently incriminated drug classes were psychotropic agents, diuretics, anticoagulants and other cardiovascular drugs, and analgesics, including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents. In 123 cases (46.6%), the ADE was judged to be preventable. ConclusionADEs leading to an emergency-department visits are frequent and many are preventable, confirming that there is a need to develop prevention strategies.

Towards a user-oriented analytical approach to learning design

The London Pedagogy Planner (LPP) is a prototype for a collaborative online planning and design tool that supports lecturers in developing, analysing and sharing learning designs. The tool is based on a developing model of the components involved in learning design and the critical relationships between them. As a decision tool it makes the pedagogical design explicit as an output from the process, capturing it for testing, redesign, reuse and adaptation by the originator, or by others. The aim is to test the extent to which we can engage lecturers in reflecting on learning design, and make them part of the educational community that discovers how best to use technology-enhanced learning. This paper describes the development of LPP, presents pedagogical benefits of visual representations of learning designs and proposes an analytical approach to learning design based on these visual representations. The analytical approach is illustrated based on an initial evaluation with a small group of lecturers from two partner institutions.Keywords: learning design; pedagogy; technology enhanced learning; visual representation of pedagogy; cost of e-learningDOI: 10.1080/09687760701850174

Towards a user-oriented analytical approach to learning design

The London Pedagogy Planner (LPP) is a prototype for a collaborative online planning and design tool that supports lecturers in developing, analysing and sharing learning designs. The tool is based on a developing model of the components involved in learning design and the critical relationships between them. As a decision tool it makes the pedagogical design explicit as an output from the process, capturing it for testing, redesign, reuse and adaptation by the originator, or by others. The aim is to test the extent to which we can engage lecturers in reflecting on learning design, and make them part of the educational community that discovers how best to use technology-enhanced learning. This paper describes the development of LPP, presents pedagogical benefits of visual representations of learning designs and proposes an analytical approach to learning design based on these visual representations. The analytical approach is illustrated based on an initial evaluation with a small group of lecturers from two partner institutions.Keywords: learning design; pedagogy; technology enhanced learning; visual representation of pedagogy; cost of e-learningDOI: 10.1080/09687760701850174

ILAE President's midterm report

ILAE President's midterm report

Innovation, research and professional development in higher education: Learning from our own experience

This paper describes and analyses an innovative experience carried out by a group of lecturers from the Psychopedagogy Faculty of the University of Alcala, involved in an action research process with the purpose of reflecting about our own practice and constructing alternative teaching strategies to facilitate students’ reflective, autonomous and critic learning. The experience consists of a didactical proposal through which we intend to establish connections and interdisciplinary relationships among courses, in order to break down the isolation that usually characterizes the work of university teachers, and move towards a more global and complex formula for curriculum development. We also propose the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) as tools to support the learning process and expand opportunities for reflection, dialogue and collaboration beyond the classroom activities. The results of this experience show a dialectic interaction amongst innovation, research and professional development processes.

Emergency Department Visits Caused by Adverse Drug Events

Adverse drug events (ADEs) are a substantial cause of hospital admissions. However, little is known about the incidence, preventability and severity of ADEs resulting in emergency department visits. To address this issue, we conducted a prospective survey in emergency departments of French public hospitals. This study was performed over two periods of 1 week each, one in June 1999 and one in December 1999, in emergency departments of five university hospitals and five general hospitals throughout France. All patients aged>or=15 years presenting with medical complaints were included in the study. Trauma patients, those with gynaecological conditions and those with alcohol intoxication or intentional drug poisoning were excluded from the study. Each patient was assessed by two local emergency physicians to determine whether the visit was the result of an ADE. All medical records were subsequently validated by an independent group of medical lecturers in iatrogenic disorders. Out of a total of 1937 patients consulting, 1562 were taking at least one drug during the previous week and were included for analysis; 328 (21%; 95% CI 19, 23) of these patients consulted an emergency physician because of an ADE. Patients with ADEs were older than those without (mean age 63.5 vs 54.8 years; p<0.0001). Furthermore, ADE patients were more likely to have a higher severity presentation than the non-ADE group (p=0.019). The number of drug exposures was significantly higher in patients with an ADE than in those without (mean number of medications 5.17 vs 3.82; p<0.0001). On multivariate analysis, only age and the number of medications taken were significantly associated with adverse events. In total, 410 drugs were incriminated in the occurrence of 328 ADEs. The most frequently incriminated drug classes were: (i) psychotropic agents (n=84; 20.5%); (ii) diuretics (n=48; 11.7%), anticoagulants (n=38; 9.3%) and other cardiovascular drugs (n=63; 15.4%); and (iii) analgesics, including NSAIDs (n=57; 13.9%). Preventability could be assessed in 280 of the 328 cases. In 106 cases (37.9%), the ADE was judged to be preventable. ADEs leading to emergency department visits are frequent, and many are preventable, confirming that there is a need to develop prevention strategies.

“We Really Felt Part of Something”: Participatory learning among peers within a university teaching‐development community of practice

This paper examines the pedagogic learning of a group of new lecturers at an international research intensive university who were participants on a formal teaching development programme. The lens of situated learning theory is utilised to gain new insights into the learning arising from the development programme but also to reveal certain limitations to pedagogic learning in academic workplaces. Initially, it is shown that academic practice can be construed as socially situated and distributed in specific contexts and that learning thus requires participation in communities of practice. While examining the functioning of teaching development cohort groups as communities of practice, further components of situated learning theory are utilised to more fully understand new lecturers’ social learning than has hitherto been the case. The lecturers’ experiences of learning as social meaning‐making and as legitimate peripheral participation are therefore examined. Furthermore, experiences of learning as a process of identity transformation are investigated. Conclusions are drawn which demonstrate the interplay of social and individual learning in the process of becoming an academic teacher. Cet article examine les apprentissages d’un groupe de professeurs en début de carrière participant à un programme formel de développement des compétences pédagogiques au sein d’une université de recherche à caractère international. L’approche théorique de l’apprentissage situé (situated learning) est utilisée afin de mettre en lumière les apprentissages découlant de ce programme, mais aussi de soulever certaines lacunes associées aux apprentissages pédagogiques ayant lieu en milieu de travail universitaire. Initialement, il appert que la pratique universitaire (academic practice) puisse être envisagée comme un phénomène étant situé et distribué socialement à l’intérieur de contextes spécifiques; l’apprentissage requiert dès lors la participation à des communautés de pratique. Alors que l’examen du fonctionnement de ces cohortes de développement pédagogique s’effectue du point de vue des communautés de pratique, des composantes additionnelles de la théorie de l’apprentissage situé sont utilisées en vue de mieux comprendre l’apprentissage social des professeurs que ce qui était le cas auparavant. Les expériences des professeurs relativement à la découverte de sens social (social meaning‐making) et à la participation périphérique légitime (legitimate peripheral participation) sont ainsi passées sous la loupe. De plus, les expériences d’apprentissage envisagées comme un processus de transformation d’identité sont examinées. Les conclusions tirées tendent à démontrer l’interaction entre les apprentissages sociaux et individuels au sein du processus de développement de l’enseignant universitaire.

Using reflective diagrams in professional development with university lecturers: A developmental tool in online teaching

The use of online technology within universities is increasing. However, this expansion is not accompanied by an associated increase in investment in lecturers' pedagogical knowledge to assist them in the transition. The major challenge now is to encourage the use of pedagogically sound technologies. At present, lecturers often lack the tools to describe the journey that they take when embarking to teach online. This paper focuses on the journey undertaken by a group of lecturers at a Western Australian university as they explored the relationship between their pedagogy and technology in a 1-year research project in which they engaged in monthly professional development workshops. At the concluding workshop the lecturers drew diagrams in order to add visual representations to their reflection process. The diagram, therefore, can be used as a diagnostic tool to identify lecturers' positions in relation to their pedagogy and use of technology and as a developmental tool to show their journey towards a more integrated approach in their online teaching.

New strategies for learning geography: a tool for teachers' professional development in England and The Netherlands

Following a constructivist view on learning and based on the work of Adey and Shayer a group of teachers and lecturers in geographical education from north‐east England developed some successful strategies to stimulate pupils' thinking skills. At the start of this century the ideas reached The Netherlands. This article presents the results of a survey among Dutch geography teachers who participated in an in‐service training about thinking skills strategies for geography. Did these teachers really use the strategies in their classrooms after the in‐service training? What kind of impact had it on their opinions about the usability of the strategies, their beliefs about students' learning and about their own teaching? This study shows that, in line with experiences in England, most Dutch geography teachers appreciate the thinking skills strategies as a good way to stimulate students' and their own learning. Animés d'une vision constructiviste de l'enseignement et de l'apprentissage, et sur la base des travaux d'Adey et Shayer, un groupe d'enseignants et de chargés de cours du Nord‐Est de l'Angleterre dont la discipline est la géographie ont mis au point plusieurs stratégies efficaces pour stimuler les aptitudes de réflexion des élèves. Au début des années 2000, leurs théories sont parvenues jusqu'aux Pays‐Bas. Le présent article présente les résultats d'une étude menée auprès de professeurs de géographie néerlandais qui ont suivi une formation ‘in‐service’ sur les stratégies de développement des aptitudes de réflexion pour la géographie. Les professeurs ont‐ils réellement utilisés les stratégies dans leurs classes à l'issue de la formation? Quel type d'impact cette dernière a‐t‐elle eu sur leur opinion quant à l'utilité des stratégies? Cette étude révèle que la plupart des professeurs de géographie apprécient les stratégies de développement des aptitudes de réflexion et qu'elles constituent un bon moyen de stimuler les élèves et leur apprentissage de cette discipline. Siguiendo un punto de vista constructivista del aprendizaje y basándose en la obra de Adey y Shayer, un grupo de maestros y profesores de educación geográfica del noreste de Inglaterra desarrolló con éxito algunas estrategias para estimular las habilidades de pensamiento de los alumnos. A principios de este siglo, estas ideas llegaron a los Países Bajos. El presente artículo ofrece los resultados de un estudio realizado entre profesores de geografía holandeses que participaron en un curso de formación durante el trabajo sobre estrategias para estimular las habilidades de pensamiento para la geografía. ¿Utilizaron estos profesores realmente las estrategias en sus clases una vez finalizada la formación? ¿Cómo influyó ésta en sus opiniones sobre la aprovechabilidad de las estrategias? El presente estudio demuestra que la mayoría de los profesores de geografía consideran que las estrategias dirigidas a las habilidades de pensamiento son una buena manera para estimular tanto el aprendizaje de los alumnos como su propio aprendizaje. Nach einer konstruktiven Untersuchung im Unterrichtsbereich und unter Zugrundelegung des Werkes von Adey und Shayer entwickelte eine aus Geografie‐Lehrern und ‐Lehrbeauftragten bestehende Gruppe aus Nordostengland erfolgreiche Strategien, um die Denkfähigkeiten der Schüler und Schülerinnen anzuregen. Zu Beginn dieses Jahrhunderts erreichten die Ideen die Niederlande. In diesem Artikel werden die Ergebnisse einer Untersuchung bei niederländischen Geografielehrern dargelegt, die an einem Lehrerfortbildungskurs über Denkfähigkeitsstrategien für den Geografieunterricht teilnahmen. Haben diese Lehrer wirklich die Strategien in ihren Klassenräumen nach dem Fortbildungskurs genutzt? Wie wirkte sich dieser Kurs auf ihre Meinungsbildung zur Brauchbarkeit der Strategien aus? Diese Studie zeigt, dass die meisten Geografielehrer die Denkfähigkeitsstrategien als gutes Mittel zur Anregung des Lernens der Schüler‐ und Schülerinnen und ihres eigenen Lernens schätzen.

Becoming a lecturer in further education in England: the construction of professional identity and the role of communities of practice

Further education colleges in England offer a wide range of post‐school education and training provision. Recently they have undergone major transformations that have resulted in considerable changes to the work of those teaching in them. In this paper we examine how cultures of learning and teaching in colleges are affected and how the nature of professional identity has changed. The paper considers the formation of professional identity amongst a group of trainee lecturers completing a one‐year full‐time teacher‐training course at a university in the English Midlands. Lave and Wenger's work on apprenticeship to communities of practice is used to examine the effect of trainees' teaching placement on the development of professional identity. Rather than identifying effective processes of increasing participation in existing communities of practice, a strong sense of marginalisation and alienation amongst trainees was observed. The paper argues that this is detrimental both to trainees and experienced lecturers if they are to actively engage in building new forms of professionalism for the future.

Students evaluating teachers: exploring the importance of faculty reaction to feedback on teaching

This study investigates university teachers’ perceptions of and reaction to students’ structured feedback on various aspects of their teaching. It begins by reviewing the literature on student evaluations of teaching and on the important issues associated with performance feedback in general. Using semi-structured qualitative data gathered from a group of lecturers who voluntarily participated in a formative student evaluation process at the University of Limerick, the researchers analyse the types of reactions and perceptions that this data reveals. Questions relating to the perceived accuracy, predictability and rationale for change are explored. Finally, the implications for the development or enhancement of student feedback systems are outlined and discussed.

Telematiese onderrig en teologiese opleiding: blikpunte op moontlike probleme

The new medium of the internet offers possibilities for teaching Theology unforeseen by previous generations of theological scholars. In this paper, the authors explore some difficulties inherent in such theological “education”. Seven issues are identified and briefly discussed, relating each to the matter of theological training by means of the internet: critical, insightful reading of information on the internet; breadth rather than depth of content; the matter of space and context; the ideology of almost unlimited student numbers taught by a small group of lecturers; the problem of miscommunication; the social dimensions to learning; the use of an “all-rounder” versus a team of different experts.